'Any established star or youngster who's creating waves, they pick him': Butt highlights RCB's strength in IPL 2021

IPL 2021: Weighing in on RCB's team composition, former Pakistan batsman Salman Butt feels the franchise has 'once again' managed to stick to their tradition of purchasing heavyweights at the auction.

Ahead of the IPL 2021 auction, Royal Challengers Bangalore let go off some big names from their squad. A total of 10 players in Aaron Finch, Chris Morris, Isuru Udana, Moeen Ali, Pawan Negi, Gurkeerat Singh Mann, Shivam Dube, Dale Steyn, Parthiv Patel and Umesh Yadav were released, leaving RCB with a strong purse of ₹35.7 crore to spend on new signings during the auction.

Kyle Jamieson (L) and Glenn Maxwell. (RCB/Twitter)

Come the big day, RCB made a couple of hefty buys, purchasing the swashbuckling Glenn Maxwell for ₹14.25 crore, but even he paled in comparison to the huge amount of ₹15 crore they spent on Kyle Jamieson of New Zealand. As if the dynamic duo of Virat Kohli and AB de Villiers wasn't enough to intimidate the opposition, the addition of Maxwell and Jamieson in the fold makes RCB's middle order one of the most formidable ones across all the eight franchises.

Weighing in on RCB's team composition, former Pakistan batsman Salman Butt feels the franchise has once again managed to stick to their tradition of purchasing heavyweights at the auction. Believing that the trio of Maxwell, Kohli and de Villiers makes RCB one of the strongest teams on paper, Butt, who has represented IPL franchise Kolkata Knight Riders in the past, feels the team looks strong based on the current set of players they have,

"RCB have had a history of carrying heavyweights over the years. And they've done it this year as well. They've included Glenn Maxwell when they already have Virat Kohli and AB de Villiers, who is arguably the most destructive player in the world. Maxwell can do so much on his day, so they have plenty of potential," Butt said.

Besides the overseas stock of players, Butt was impressed by the depth in their domestic bunch as well. The likes of Yuzvendra Chahal, Mohammed Siraj and Washington Sundar – especially the latter two who are coming off impressive performances for India. The former Pakistan opening batsman feels these names make for a wonderful line up of Indian players at the RCB camp, while also showing confidence in the all-round skills of Jamieson.

"If you are to see the Indian youngsters in the team, there's Washington Sundar who has lately put up some brilliant performances for India. Yuzvendra Chahal is a mighty impressive leg spinner who's played a lot of international cricket and has done well," Butt added.

"Kyle Jamieson, who is New Zealand's latest pace sensation, is a tall bowler who will be difficult to hit big sixes off. So they have stuck to their tradition. Any established star or youngster who's creating waves, they pick him."